Posts Tagged ‘Winter Solstice’
Friday marked the Winter Solstice and we’ve now entered into the winter season. Winter is an ideal time for writers to take stock of the light and dark aspects of their writing. So much of writing (and creating more generally), is about cultivating the willingness to explore the unknown, uncharted and mysterious places of the imaginative psyche. Often it feels as if we are in the dark while creating. During winter, we can review our writing accomplishments of the year and plant dream seeds for the future. As we turn inward into the muck of our own fertile landscape, we mirror the outward cycle of the earth.
The prompts below can support your writing practice during winter:
The time I felt the most joy, in 2012, when writing was…
I am most of proud of my writing practice in 2012 because…
What continues to interest me about my writing is…
I took the most risk this year in writing about…
The fresh new writing that wants to be born in 2013 is…
Creating support for my writing life during the winter season looks like…
My strategies to reduce time and energy wasters that take me away from writing include…
The writing seeds that are growing in the deep dark are…
A self-limiting belief I have about my writing that I could release into the light is…
Writing Prompts for Winter
Posted on: December 22, 2011
Winter Solstice is a perfect time for writers to take stock of the light and dark aspects of their writing. So much of writing (and creating more generally), is about cultivating the willingness to explore the unknown, uncharted and mysterious places of the imaginative psyche. Often it feels as if we are in the dark. During winter, we can review our writing accomplishments of the year and plant dream seeds for the future. As we turn inward into the muck of our own fertile landscape, we mirror the outward cycle of the earth.
The prompts below can support your writing practice during the winter:
My writing that is most afraid of the light is…
The writing that wants to be born in 2012 is…
Creating support for my writing life during winter looks like…
The time I felt the most joy in 2011 when writing was…
I am most of proud of my writing practice in 2011 because…
The writing seeds that are growing in the deep dark are…
A negative belief I have about my writing that I could release into the light is…
Is letting go
a process or a price
what am i paying for
not seeing sooner?
learning at the edge?
letting go
of something precious but no longer needed?
(Audre Lorde, unpublished)
I came across this unpublished poem, by Audre Lorde, through the work of my friend Alexis Pauline Gumbs, scholar, poet and activist:
http://2008.alliedmediaconference.org/user/alexispauline
I love Audre Lorde’s work and think this is a gem of a poem and perfect for the season. It is the Winter Solstice, a time of quiet reflection and the intentional letting go of habits, ways of being and things that no longer serve us. Usually a week before the Winter Solstice, I like to do an intense cleaning of my house. I mean going through everything—from what’s been hiding at the back of the refrigerator for months to forgotten boxes piled in the garage. Although it is exhausting (I start usually at 7am and finish around 5), it feels necessary and important because it allows me to actively make peace with my physical space. The outward scrubbing and cleaning also prepares me for doing the mental and emotional work that the season invites, including asking questions: What am I still committed to? What emotional pattern am I now able to let go of at year’s end? Is this (thing, habit, experience) serving me? How have I nurtured my creative energies during this year?
This time of year can bring gifts of spaciousness and reflection if we take the time to be silent and go inward, perhaps foregoing yet another holiday party or fourth glass of champagne. I invite you to curl up with this poem and ask yourself: What is the precious thing or experience in your life that is no longer needed? If you let that go, what will it make space for in the rest of your creative life?
For more on Audre Lorde, including a new book with previously unpublished writings:
